If you thought Donald Trump's war on people of color and the climate couldn't get any worse, think again: Trump has nominated long-time racist and climate-denying conservative talk radio hack Sam Clovis to serve as the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) chief scientist.

Clovis is a birther conspiracy theorist who has called President Obama and his Black and Latino cabinet members "racists." He has no policy expertise in food and agriculture or experience in hard sciences, and he believes climate science is "junk."1,2

He is wholly unqualified to fill this position, and the Senate will be taking up a vote to confirm him soon. We must pressure members of the Senate to block and resist his nomination.

In the past, chief scientists at the USDA have been experts in food and farming, biochemistry, public health, or food nutrition. In fact, the law requires the USDA's chief scientist be chosen "from among distinguished scientists with specialized training or significant experience in agricultural research, education, and economics."3

However, Clovis' only apparent qualifications to head this critical science post is that he lives in agriculture-heavy Iowa and is a shameless Trump supporter. Clovis is instead deeply anti-science, claiming the overwhelming evidence behind climate change is "not proven" and "junk science" and has stated that he will not prioritize climate change in the agency's policy.4

During his time as an extreme right-wing activist and conservative radio host, Clovis frequently espoused racist conspiracy theories. In a now-deleted blog that Clovis ran, he "accused progressives of 'enslaving' minorities, called black leaders 'race traders,' and labeled former President Barack Obama a 'Maoist' with 'communist' roots."5

In light of the recent white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, every Senate Democrat and any Senate Republican with a conscience must do everything in their power to stop Donald Trump from installing yet another unqualified racist hack in his administration.

Clovis' nomination is not just absurd, it's dangerous. We must act now to ensure the Senate keeps this incompetent racist from heading up USDA science policy and rejects this nomination outright.